The Forgotten Hero
by xXArmedGamerXx
Summary: An older lady tells the tale of her heroic father, though no one believes her, they all stick around to listen.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NO RIGHTS TO THE FALLOUT FRANCHISE HELD BY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS\ZENIMAX MEDIA INC. BUT WILL BE USING THE FALLOUT SCENARIOS AND CHARACTERS**

****NOTE**: THIS WILL CONTAIN HARSH GRAPHICS DUE TO SNIPING SCENARIOS, AND LARGE EXPLOSIONS, THOUGHS WHO ARE OFFENDED BY SUCH INCIDENTS, PLEASE CLICK THE BACK BUTTON... **You have been warned****

**Things to know**

-This is taking place shortley after the events of New Vegas

-The BOS have taken over as primary government and military

-The large time gap in between Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas has been decreased to around 5years

-Certain Names and sexes have been changed for certain characters to suit MY liking, their roles stand the same.

-Mother and Father have been switched(instead of chasing after dad, the character is chasing his mom)

ON TO THE STORY SHALL WE? :D

A brittle, tall, white haired, older lady enters the school room and arranges the desks for "Story Day". Normally "Story Day" is a day where the children gather around and tell their elder's story in remodeling America, instead this elder teacher will be telling her father's story. Not long ago the children had demanded to hear her father's story.

The woman searches her backpack for her family history book. It would have been far too difficult to actually remember all of the events, so her father wrote in a journal nearly every chance he got. She brushes through the pages smiling at all the poorly sketched photos as she sees them. The pages are warn from constant use. She feels the cover and sits herself in the middle of all the desks.

She checks her watch; 6:59AM couldn't go by much slower. Just as she lowers her hand the bell rings and the sleep deprived teens walk into the room and take their seats. She does role call and everyone is in attendance.

"Today class, I will be reading the first few chapters from my father's book." She says as she flips into the first page. Most of the teens prepare pencils and paper for notes and pay close attention. The blonde primpy hair girl is the first to raise her hand.

"Yes Sharren?" The teacher responds to the erected arm quickly. "May I ask, how did your father print such a gruesome art on the cover of the book without print and press, it seems so... realistic!" The teen exclaims curiously. The teacher thinks for a minute. "It's neither art or a print, this is the blood of my father's true best friend." Hands shoot up and the teacher ignores them. "Let's get started."

"Chapter one; 'My father passed away soon after my birth. He was trying to get me and my mom back into Vault 101 realizing that the medical team WHEREVER I was born in didn't have the proper medicine and medical procedure to treat my mother. After my birth, my mother was struck into Cardiac Arrest that nearly killed her. Well, really it did kill her but CPR was just enough to get my mom's heart beating long enough to get her on life support.

I'll never forget the day she left to go dance with her friends in the hallway when I was around two years old. I wandered out of my play pen and found a book called "You're Special". I flipped through the pages, I was so interested in strength, intelligence and, endurance that I paid nearly no attention to anything else. She told me about my father's favorite Bible quote.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." — Revelation 21:6

I also remember my first big birthday bash, my childhood friend arranged it and even convinced my mother for it to happen. I had just turned ten, this is the age when a Vault 101 dweller gets their pip-boy. Back then I used to think, damn, I don't want a stupid wrist band! Turns out it's one of the greatest features I have. She also gave me my first copy of Grognack the Great Barabarian! I got into my first fight that day too, shortly after getting my yearly sweet roll from the elderly lady down the hall. Butch wanted it, but I spit on it just before cramming it in his face. It ended quickly when the 101 guard broke up the fight.

I nearly forgot! I got my BB gun that day! I was so excited when my mom and her assistant ,Jonas, threw it in front of me and even set up an entire shooting range! It was crazy, I even got to shoot a couple of Radroaches!' "

The teacher clears her throat and passes around the picture of her father and grandmother smiling for the picture to finally conclude. The students gasp as they see the resemblance of the teacher and he grandmother. She tapes the picture back into the book and stares into the wide eyes of the many students. Most of the people who came out of the Vault 101 died because they didn't pay any attention to their Radiation Scanners when they came out.

"Any questions?" She asks reluctant to answer any of the many erected arms.


	2. Chapter 2

eSorry about not updating to whoever likes this, I got sucked into watching Falling skies, so good :3

Also, I need some ideas for side quests to include! I'll obviously be doing the main story line primarily, which includes B.S., but just the main storyline is boring. Go ahead and give me some ideas.

The older lady rubs the stress from the bridge on her nose. The class has asked enough questions to restock a library. The lunch bell goes off and she lifts her head to give instructions for lunch. The shock on her face stuns the students when she saw that nobody left, they want to hear more about her father. One person stands and leaves for lunch, it was a girl who asked; "If your father was born in the vault, and lived in the vault, how are you here?" The teacher didn't answer the question, it would have been to hard for the teacher to explain without actually ruining everything the next chapter is.

"It's lunch time children, go eat." The teacher says nervously. No one moves. The boy in the front with countless piercings and a war hawk is the first to retaliate. "I don't know about the rest of these dick wads but I would like to hear the second chapter... If that would be okay with you, mam."

The teacher can't help but smile. Raider children are so polite, yet brutal about being polite."Fine, but get a snack ready, I don't want any of you losing any weight."

The teens tear through their backpacks and take out the snacks they intended on eating while the teacher taught, discretely. She smiles, it's their last few days until vacation, and only some of them will be returning next year. She clears her throat and from behind her desk in the far side of the room, she continues.

"I had just turned Sixteen and I had to take the G.O.A.T. While on my way, I saw the Tunnel Snakes. A three man gang led by none other, Butch. They were surrounding Amata, one of my closest friends. Luckily we haven't friend zoned each other just yet and I was hoping today I could make my mark. Amata is the Overseer's daughter which makes her really hard to get close too, but not for me, my mother and her father seemed to be good friends." She turns the page and begins the new one not soon after

"I heard them giving her hell from down the hallway, so I approached Butch. He wasn't very kind to me when I challenged his actions towards Amata. I should have seen it coming, Butch ordered his gang and himself to team up on me. I went straight for Paul, he had the biggest hands, he was also the first one to get in front of me taking his first swing to my rib cage. It connected but I grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground with a swift kick to his ribs. I heard a crack and obviously broke a few ribs.

Next was Wally Mack. He was faster than me, but thought about things a little less. He took a swing to my jaw. I leaned back then swept his feet out from under him followed by a stomp to his chin. Wont kill him, but I definitely dislocated his jaw. I turned and saw Butch with his little knife. 'You're lucky your dad died, I woulda killed him myself you little BITCH!' He charged at me, knife extended towards my gut. Not a second to soon a guard came around the corner to see me drop Butch and hold his own knife to his throat. 'Tsk Tsk Butch, you got your ass handed to you by a little weakling like...' Suddenly there is a searing pain in my back and I'm on the floor. Butch is being helped up and Amata is telling the story of what happened." She flicks to the next page and checks for questions. None, good, she wouldn't answer any anyways.

"Luckily I wasn't arrested and got to go to class. I broke Wally's jaw completely and Paul was good enough to go take the G.O.A.T. For himself. Amata looked at me and smiled, I walked up to her and she stomped on my toes 'I don't need your help you know? You nearly got killed!' I look her in the eye, I finally choke up some words. 'You could just say thank you..' She blushes a little and holds her chin. 'Fine, thank you. But next time I'll be saving you from verbal harassment!'

I look over her shoulder and see Butch getting hauled off somewhere by the guards, the entire time he glares at me. 'You've got yourself a deal.' I turned and helped Paul stand and get to class. Me and Paul always had somewhat of a friendship, but he stands by Butch like a dog. I sit him down in the front and head towards Mr. Brotch, I've got no intention of taking this test and he knows it. I convince him to set up my results so that I became the 'Vault Loyalty Inspector'. I was finally able to put my box of bobby pins to use.

I sat in the back of the room and waited for Amata to finish her test. I made silly faces at her when I caught her staring back, she nearly got blamed for cheating when she broke out into laughter. Brotch gave me a stern look and I waved at him flirtatiously. This was enough to keep him distracted and Amata to turn in her test. She received 'Shift Manager'. Paul got 'Vault Engineer' I've never seen someone in so much pain be so excited about a job. Amata wasn't so happy. She knew hers was rigged so she would become the future overseer. I wanted to make her happier so I went around the corner next to the door and waited for her to come out. The class went out one by one and she was last. She didn't notice me until I grabbed just above her hips, she yipped with laughter and I carried her back to her room." Again she turns to the next page. This time there is a question, a quiet boy in the back who has no hair and a funny looking nose has his hand up. The teacher nearly ignored him but decided not too.

"Yes Charles?" The teacher asks.

"Does the next part have sexual encounters?" He asked his question so quietly that the girl in front of him had to repeat it. The teacher thought for a minute. "No Charles, there is only ONE adult scene in this book, but it's not until later. Thank you for asking." She hesitates to continue reading, she throws in a quick detail. "There is one thing though, the style of writing seems to change at this point. My father stopped writing in past tense, but in present tense, so that we can be soaked into the book." She clears her throat and this time ignores Charles' question. She continues reading.

"I was running to her room and the guards stared as they saw their boss' daughter get carried through the vault. One of them stopped me. Good old Officer Gomez didn't want any attention being brought to us.

'Hey kids, calm down! I don't want the overseer getting his panties all tied up because his daughter is having a good time!' Amata giggled for the first time and we continued to her dad and her room. I put her down in front of her door and look her in the eyes. Hers are just like mine, a slight shade of brown. I notice her gnawing on her bottom lip. She quickly turned and opened the door. She doesn't even say goodbye and closes the door on me. I laugh and lean my forehead against the metal, I has cold sting to it. Without thinking I slam my fist into what I thought was her door. Turned out to be her window, cracking it. The door opened just as quick as my fist connect I fell forward a little bit and when I looked up I was surprised by not Amata, but her dad.

'Thank you for taking my daughter home, but you need to leave...' He says to me sternly. I just stand there for a few seconds and stare at him, speechless. 'NOW!' He screams, his voice echoes and I walk down the hall back to my room. Moms at work and it's been a long day. Might as well go to sleep." The teacher flips the page and skims ahead a few pages to find the start of the third chapter. She nods and continues reading, not looking up.

"My mother had acted suspicious the next morning. She claimed she was fine but I could tell something was bothering her. When I woke up I went to class and noticed Amata wasn't there. I slept through class and decided to go visit her at home, if she's sick she would be home alone and her dad would be at work doing overseer stuff.

I walked to her room and noticed the window had been replaced. I knocked a couple times and she answered. Her cheek had a bruise on it. She gasped and tried to close the door before I could get in, unfortunately for her I was inside already.

'What the fuck happened to you, was it Butch? I'll kill his ass if he did this to you!' She looks away. I grab her chin.

'Stop, I told you I don't need your help!' She says with tears in her eyes. 'Besides, it wasn't Butch'

'Who was it then? Just tell me, I think I deserve to know.' I refute towards her.

'My dad thought I was going to invite you inside for"adult fun" so he punished me.' the tears stream down her face and she throws herself into my chest. I didn't know what to say. All I knew is that I couldn't be seen here with her. Me and her used to crawl the the vent chambers when were younger to play in the generator room. The vents are thin, but I can fit through them. I grab her chin and lift her head so I can look at her.

'Meet me by the main battery in about ten minutes alright? It doesn't look like that got treated to well.'

She nods and goes to open the door. I grab her palm and listen. I hear a guard's radio, they know I'm here and one of the guards are here to check on her. I point to the vent and she gets the hint. I grab a chair and open the vent, she hurries herself into her room and turns on a radio to drown the noise. The vent cover slams open and I throw myself into it. She moves the chair and slides the vent cover back in place. Just in time for the guard to come in.

'Can I help you?' She asks.

'Yeah, I've been assigned to watch your room but I have to do a quick search.' He answered her with a military styled voice, can't tell who it was. He stares up into the vent and I stare back. 'Don't move' I think. He continues to walk around and checks the rest of the room and I scurry into the generator room. Jonas and Paul were in there when I fell from the wall. They both stare. I look at Paul.

'Hows the rib?' I ask.

'Been better, and yours?' He asks quietly.

'Meh, you hit me pretty hard, but not as hard as I hit you.'

We both laugh and I stop and look at Jonas.

'Jonas, get my mom down here, tell her Paul cut his finger pretty bad or something.' I demand.

'Wh...' He starts to ask as Amata walks in the room. The bruise on her face is gone, but I know it's hiding.

'Just do it Jonas!' I demand again. Amata walks up to me and I wrap my arms around her. Jonas goes to the intercom and sends for my mother. It takes doesn't take long for her to get down here. She pieced it together when she saw Amata silently crying into me.

'Paul would you mind stepping out for a minute?' She asks. He nods as a reply and walks out.

'Alright honey, whats wrong?' She talks to me for some reason.

'Amata has a bruise on her cheek and it looked pretty bad, I just wanted you to check it out.' I answer.

She smiles and shakes her head. 'You're just like your dad you know that?' I unfold Amata and my mom moves the make up from Amata's face. Shes shocked and feels her jaw bone, making sure it isn't broken. Amata whimpers a little. Shes still clinging to my back.

'Well, your jaw isn't broken but that bruise is under the skin, which means you have a busted vein.' She gives Amata her observation and all Amata can do is nod.

'Would you like a Stimpak to numb the pain?' My mom asks calmly.

'No, I'll be fine. Do you have any coverup with you though? I need to make sure no one sees, or I'll really be dead.' She replies and realizes she's said to much. My mom gives her a stern look and hands Amata her cover up.

'Do you want to stay with us for the day? I'll be making some pork and rice for dinner tonight!' My mom's offer seemed to make Amata's day. Her face brightened up and she nodded with excitement. It'll be the first time Amata ever walks into our room.

'Alright, be home at 5:30 you two, dinner should be done by then.' My mom says as she goes back to the clinic. Paul comes back in and Jonas puts him right to work.

'Thanks Jonas.' I say.

'Mhmmmm' He replies." The teacher takes a sip from her water and turns the page, continuing.

"Amata and I hung around in the generator for a while to chat. We decided that being friends is the best thing that has happened to either of us. We also agreed that we could become even better than friends. When it was time to go back home, I helped her off the floor and held her hand the entire way. I know it means nothing, but it felt great. We ate dinner and her pip-boy flashed. Her dad was calling for her to go home.

'Walk her home will you?' My mom said as I took Amata to the door. We all laughed and decided it would be best if I just walked her as far as the classroom. I opened the door and slipped my fingers in between hers. It's not a very long walk to the classroom from my room, but it's better than nothing at all. Her hair is always up, I wonder if I'll ever see it down. We reach the classroom, and I didn't realize she had been staring back at me the entire time we were walking. Mr. Brotch was just leaving when we showed up. He looked at me and dropped his key and calmly said 'Oops.' and walked away. Amata and I couldn't contain our laughter as he walked away and we walked in.

We sat on the floor, my arm around her just looking at each other. Then it catches my eye, she's gnawing on her lip and staring at mine. This makes me laugh, I must be doing the same thing.

'You're silly you know?' I ask her.

'...What, why?' she asks loudly.

'Your lips bleeding.' I say in a joking matter, but it seems it isn't a joke. Her lip is really bleeding.

'No way!' She exclaims. I wipe the blood from her lip with my thumb and show it to her. She looks at it and blushes almost instantly.

'You're the son of a doctor, cant you fix this?' She asks nervously. I nod in response and move my face close to hers. Then it happens. Her pair of moist, warm lips touch mine. I'm an amateur, I don't know about her, so I don't know when to stop, I don't care either.

There is a flash of light and we stop. Butch, in the corner, behind Brotch's desk. I wonder how he got in but I don't think. I stand up and approach him. He snickers at me.

'You know, if you hurt me, it'll be more obvious that it happened than a picture its self!' He talks to me like he owns me. Amata grabs my hand.

'Just let him show my father, I don't ca...' Butch interrupts her. 'You think this is for your father? You're DEAD wrong. Why would I work for him? This is for the entire Vault to see. "The Overseer's Daughter kissing the slum who cheated on his G.O.A.T!" I can see it now, your little father is going to drop the hammer on this PUNK here and banish him from the Vault.' He still sounds like he owns me.

He was too busy giving his little speech to notice me approaching his blade. Stealing it from his pocket he nails me in the eye with the camera. I toss the knife away and take the camera, smashing it on the floor. He takes another swing at me, this time he connects just below my belt. Amata yips with fear when he hits me in the back of my neck. I stagger back and block the next punch to my knee. I return a punch to his gut and cripple him over. While he's bent I grab the sides of his head and bring my knee to his nose. He cries out in pain and falls on his back. He holds his nose and blood gushes from under his hand. I place my foot on his neck.

'You would kill my father would you? Your mother is a drunk, your dad is dead, have you eaten today Butch? Or did your mom drink away your ration tickets once more?' I ask him as I push down with my foot. He gags for air and grips my ankle. 'Butch, you're going to stay away from Amata, and if you want to do this ALL AGAIN, I'll kill you.' He gasps for air and I lift my foot and he turns over to stand on all fours. 'Okay, okay man, you got a deal, I'll leave your girl alone.' He chokes out the words and I kick him down.

I bend to pick up the film from the camera when I notice the light bulb is missing out of its socket. Butch is turned facing me with the bulb and hits me in the cheek with it. It breaks and sprays my face with blood and glass. I yell with pain and grab his neck. I stand up, he's shorter than me so he's dangling at the mercy of my height. I tighten my grip around his neck. My face gushes blood and I wait for the color in his face to fade and drop him. I check for a pulse and it's still there. I grab the remains of the camera and Amata rushes to me." The class sits in awe. And the teacher takes the picture out from the book, the picture of the two kissing. Blood stains the corner and splashes across the center. She passes it around the room for everyone to see. They don't move, stunned by every thing that happened inside of the vault. Sharron raises her hand again.

"Go ahead Sharron." The teacher says

"I don't understand, this can't be possible, a fight inside of the Vault? A gang even? These things were prohibited, even for the teens. How did they get a camera to work? This cannot be true!" She says it faster than the teacher's comprehension.

The teacher thinks for a second, searching for a response. "Sharron, Vault 101 was one of the more advanced Vaults, and had very strict rules. In fact, Vault 101 was closed long enough for them to make scientific advances. They improved our medical systems and built MANY things. A camera, was one of the few basic things that Vault 101 got to work."

Another hand raises almost immediately after the answer.

A petite girl with a shaved head doesn't wait for the teacher to respond to her hand. "Was your father scarred by the light bulb?"

The powder haired teacher doesn't hesitate. "Yes, yes he was. But his scars healed at a point."

She places the picture back in the book and continues to read after flipping the page.

"She pulls shards of glass from my cheek and checks if there is any glass in my eye. She stands me up and we look at each other for a moment.

'You're not slum... You're a hero.' She says quietly.

'Yeah? You're m...' She stops me before I can even finish and plants another kiss on me. I wrap my hands around her. Blood getting on her face from mine. I decide I'll walk her all the way back. Blood still gushes from my face as we leave the class room. I started to get dizzy so she put my arm around her shoulder and practically dragged me to her room. Her dad answered and took me to the couch. Amata told him about Butch and what happened. He sent for guards to get Butch and lock him up, then sent for my mom. This is where I blacked out. I didn't realize it was that bad.

. I woke up in the middle of the night in the clinic Amata is at my side and the overseer and my mother are talking outside the clinic. My hand is still clinging to Amata's from when I passed out. Shes been here the entire time. Only a day in the relationship and I can already tell I love this girl. Always have though. From a childish puppy love, to a middle school crush to my high school love. I caress her hand with my thumb and she shoots her head up. Tears escape her eyes.

'Hey, whats wrong, I'm alive and I definitely don't think this was fatal...' I can barely get the words out, I feel exhausted.

'It's not that... My father doesn't want me seeing you, or being around you anymore.' She blurts it out like it was hurting her from the inside. All I can do is stare at her.

'He found the picture that Butch took, he wasn't very pleased and he doesn't want me with a trouble maker. He says you're no better than the Tunnel Snakes.' She knows I can't talk she explained the whole situation again. Apparently my mom has been trying to convince the Overseer that I'm not a trouble maker, and that I never had a father figure to teach me otherwise. I pass back out and this time I wake up in my bed, no Amata and a giant bandage on my cheek. I touch it and feel pain seer through my cheek. 'FUCK!' I exclaim and tears roll down my face. I can't even be with my only friend, I'm alone. I go to class and Amata is there, but Butch isn't. Good, Amata is safe and Butch is locked up. Brotch hands out tests and we sit in silence. I don't do the test, I get up and walk out of the class instead.

'Hey, get back here! If you fail this test you...' I interrupt his stupidity. 'I gotta use the washroom.' I don't really need to use the washroom but I go there anyways. Jonas is washing his hands, I greet him, but he doesn't even look at me. He just walks out. I look in the mirror at the white medical tape over my wounds. I hear the door open, I don't look at them, instead I turn on the water and act like I was heading back to class. I feel arms wrap around my waist.

'Amata...' I say quietly.

'Just because my dad said I can't see you, doesn't mean I wont...' She whispers it as close to my ear. I shake my head.

'No... I don't want you to get hurt for me again.' I say with my head down. I can feel the tears coming up.

'What're you saying?' She asks sadly.

'I'm saying, lets not do this. You're my greatest friend.. I couldn't have a better friend.' I scrounge for words. 'You're my only friend, and I REALLY care about you, I don't want you to get hurt. you're going to grow up and be something, when I'm older I'll be burning unbuilt bridges checking if people are loyal to the Overseer.' I feel a wet spot on my shoulder blade. I turn around and hug her. Her hands search my back and grip my shirt, she sobs into my chest. I wait for her to calm down and I give her one last kiss on the cheek. I head back to class and she follows behind me.

Later that night I was eating with my mom at dinner, apparently I broke Butch's nose in multiple spots and re-aligned his spine when I threw him down. Other than that news dinner was quiet. Amata has been trying to contact me via pip-boy all night. I just can't bring myself to do it. I went and to put my dishes up when I heard a knocking. I went to answer, my heart was in my throat, I thought it was Amata. Instead it was the Overseer. My mom answered the door like usual he came in for tea, but this time he gestured for me to sit at the table. For once he doesn't want to talk supplies with my mom, he wants to talk to me.

'I understand my daughter has strong feelings for you.. Do you feel like you can keep her safe?' I never thought I would be talking to the Overseer on such a topic.

I look him in the eye and say 'I would keep her more than just safe, I would make sure she's happy every day and looks forward to the next.'

He and my mom laugh, I can't tell if they're laughing at me or sharing a memory. 'Alright kiddo, if you can do that, I'll give you one more chance, but if you endanger her one more time... Well, lets say it wont be her taking the hits.' My mom looks at him, stunned he would even say that. I laugh at his threat.

'Get out of here so me and your mother can speak.' He says coldly. I nod and dash out the door towards Amata's room. She answers, her eyeliner is running and I throw a hug around her, we share laughs filled with tears. I hold her as tight as I can. I pick her up, this time we run to my room, and into my personal quarters. We exchange stares, but that soon becomes a kiss. The simple kiss turned into exchanging saliva via tongue. We stopped before anything went to far. She was laying on top of me, we chatted about old times, the present, I told her about what happened today with her dad and for whatever reason, we got into the topic of the future. It's Friday night and usually there is a party at Paul's room. Instead of going to the party, we decided to fall asleep.

I had a dream that night. I was in the outside world, before any bombs went off. It was happy and there was serenity. My mom lived on the second floor of Amata and mine's house. There was a little girl running around in the front yard. Color just seemed to fill the world. Then I heard the sirens, the bombs were dropping and I was holding my family under a table. The world started to shake violently. The sirens got louder and louder. I heard the whistle of a bomb. Just before it exploded I woke up.

Amata had been shaking me and the security alarms were going off. Something was happening, but I knew we were safe in my room.

'Come on, wake up, plea...' She tries to plead to me, but I just wanted to have some fun.

'I knew you'd be excited to see me, but this seems a bit excessive don't ya think?' I say.

'It's you're mom! She got out of the Vault, they killed Jonas because they think he helped her escape, they're coming for you next!' She's nearly screaming at me.

'What do you mean my mom got out? The door hasn't opened in 200 years!' I attempt to refute her, but now that I think about it, this seems possible. Jonas has barely said a word to me and my mom has been acting extremely odd. I run these things through my head, it all makes sense.

'Alright, whats the quickest and safest for us to get out?' I ask quickly to try and make up for lost time.

She wracks her brain for an answer.'My dad's office has a shortcut to the door, but you'll probably have to fight to get to his office.' She leans into me kisses my cheek. I can't help but hug her for a second.

'Before I forget, I stole my dad's pistol, take it and only use it if you need it.' She tries to shove it into my chest but I force it back to her.

I look her in the eye. 'I wont need it, keep it though, YOU may need it.'

I took picked up my bat and she ran towards her fathers, she said something about trying to stall her dad's search for me. I was just out my door and I watch a guard get mauled by Rad Roaches. Ironic how they invade while I'm escaping. That must have been Jonas' part in the plan. I start by heading towards the clinic to check Jonas' body for any clues. I'm jumped by a couple guards with batons on my way though. I broke one of their face masks with my bat and snapped the other one's neck. Not to far from there I saw Butch's mom get eaten alive by some Rad Roaches. I was nearly to the vault door when I was jumped by a couple of guards with pistols. I took a couple shots, non-vital areas though. A couple of Stimpaks took the pain right away, blood loss was the only thing worrying me. I luckily escaped them by sneaking behind some generators and stabbing them in the kidneys with Butch's old knife I had grabbed from the classroom.

I was finally nearing the vault door when I passed the holding room. I saw that Butch was still locked up. When I scanned the room a little more, I saw Amata tied to a chair and another guard about to hit her. She lit him up faster than the virtual lightning struck in the nature room. He fell to the floor and bled at her feet. Her dad was nearing her with his finger pointed towards her gun. She dropped it and he struck her down. I barged in just in time to see Amata hit the floor. I reached into my pocket and whipped my dad's old baseball at the Overseer's nose. It connects and sends him into the ground next to his daughter. I take a running start and kick him in the side of the head. He's on his back now. Amata is too dazed to realize what's going on. He cowers on his back, his face gushing blood and tears. I don't even need to talk to him to know what kind of pain he's in. I don't want to kill him, but I'll sure as hell make him wish he were dead. I walk to his feet and crush his ankles with my bat. He screams in pain so I do it to his elbows. I look at his mangled position, he tries to plea with me but I kick in his teeth.

Amata saw the whole thing, never said a word and doesn't even seem shocked. I get her up to her feet and toss Butch his knife. He's more than pleased, not only did he get his knife back but he can use it to pick the lock. Amata throws a hug around me and cries into my shoulder. I don't think she wanted her dad to look this way, but she also knows she's leaving the safety of her home, into the wild wastes. I pick her up and take her to the vault door. I go over things I have to do before I leave. Everything is in check, but one thing and I can't think of it. Then it hits me. I forgot to go to the clinic, but it's not far so it's no big deal. I place Amata down somewhere she wont be seen and head that way. I make it up to the clinic door and find two additional carcases to the one I was looking for. Officer Gomez and his robot friend are both dead. I check the bodies, a couple of Rad Roaches wouldn't take out a trained officer and a robot with a flame thrower. It's exactly what I thought it was, the robot was re-programmed to attack Jonas and when Gomez found out, he tried to stop the robot. Stanley is dead in the corner next to Jonas. Must of taken all three of them to even put a dent into the robot. I walk up to Jonas' body, I search for anything that could lead me to my mom. I find a holo tape and take his glasses. I put the glasses in my pocket and upload the tape to my pip-boy.

I get back to the vault door to find Amata surrounded by two officers. I take up my bat and swing for the back of one of their heads. It connects but the helmet just shook his head around. They both turn towards me and start waking. I get pushed into a corner across the room, near the door I came in. I hear a buzz saw spin up after a few minutes of taking a beating. One of them drops down and blood sprays everything. The next guard is engulfed in flames and brought to his knees. The next thing I know, I'm face to face with a bloody robot.

It stood there a second and states; 'Have a good day sir.' then floats away. I see Amata, untouched in the corner of the room. I slip my arms under her again and open the Vault. It screeches open and I take towards the entrance. Amata slips her arms around my neck and hides her face in my chest. I hear the door screech closed and I quickly turn around, Butch carried the Overseer back to the entrance just to close the door. He was in kahoots with the overseer the entire time. Amata and eye gaze at each other and I set her down. Her arms stay wrapped around me.

'You ready for this Amata?' I ask her quietly.

'No, I thought I would hide inside of this little cave and have you bring me food whenever I get hungry.' She responds hesitantly, but happily. I laugh at her and bring her close, we head for the final obstacle to our freedom and leave.  
The old lady closes the book and sheds a small tear, it's hard to think her grandfather was a communist. She looks up at the class, all their jaws hang open and stare at her blankly.

After thinking about it for a minute she says, "We'll continue this next week class."

They all gasp and the bell goes off.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I'm considering writing a "Falling Skies" fic, just none of the characters appeal for writing first person other than Tector. So I may just make a survival guide type thing, I dunno though. Just know this wont be abandoned. Like it matters though? XD I also started school right after I started this 3rd chapter.**

School has ended but the kids still demand to hear the elder lady's story. The town mayor and sheriff decided to leave the school open to her so that she can teach "summer school". On the last day she instructed students to bring some more comfortable furniture for themselves so that they don't have to sit on the floor. The desks had already been put into storage for the summer and she doesn't want to take the time to unload them just for a couple weeks more of reading a book. She personally left her arm chair in the classroom.

When she walked in around noon, to her surprise, everyone brought in something. There was a few couches lined up, a couple of beds stacked on top of one another and a handful of wooden dinner chairs. But what really put her into shock, was the fact that every open spot was occupied by her entire class. They arranged the furniture so that theres one row in the middle of the room, leading from her chair to the door and rows between each seating arrangement. The class stands at the sight of their teacher walking in.

She takes a breath. "Why, hello class! I'm going to be reading the third chapter of my father's travels now, so if you would all calm down and take a seat." She walks to her spot as they sit down. She looks at the youth that sit before her and notice something different. Each of them have a gleam in their eye. They're actually excited to hear the story. She sits down and opens the book at a bookmark just before the third chapter.

She clears her throat and begins. "We got to the outside world, the sun was bright and I started to feel the dampness in my side. I had forgotten about the bullet wound, I need to get to a town fast. 'Hey Amata, do me a favor and play this Holotape?' My voice is weaker than I expected it to be. I merge the file over to her pip-boy and she starts it almost immediately. I don't hear it and the world is slowly going blurry. Falling over I hear screaming, my name. There is a ding of some coordinates being uploaded to my pip-boy and I black out.

There is a constant fading in and out. Somehow Amata managed to drag me to a town built out of plane remnants. There is a two headed cow and a man in a bright yellow jump suit that help her get me inside to a doctor. The doctor is a cranky old black man. Fading out again I hear a heart monitor flat line and Amata cry out. I'm dead. I'll get to see my dad, and Jonas.

Then it hits me. Amata gave up everything to come with me, to see me reunite with my mother. She could have lived a completely safe and comfortable life inside the Vault, where her only problem was Butch and his gang. I gotta try and fight. But how, I'm practically dead.

It's a white arrangement, just like how the priests inside the Vault said. I'm sitting in a chair, a metal one like the ones in the clinic.

I hear a deep voice. "It's our beautiful boy Catherine!" it says.

I hear a familiar voice "Oh ho ho ho, he's going to look just like his dad!"

I whip my head around, what the hell is going on? I look forward again, and a figure approaches me. Squinting my eyes, I see the figure more clearly. It's my Father. I jump up and run to my dad. He opens his arms and I run straight into him.  
"You've grown up so fast son, but people need you." He practically whispers into my ear.

"I know dad, but how do I go back?" I ask him, my face buried in his chest.

He starts to laugh, a deep, happy laugh. I close my eyes to blink, but the laughing becomes a sob, it's not my dad anymore, it's a girl. My eyes wont open, so I use all the strength I have and force them open. Amata, holding my lifeless corpse, blood on her hands and arm. Her eyes are closed and she leans forward to kiss my forehead. She connects the kiss and I kiss her chin. She gasps and looks at my eyes.

'Hey, I knew you were excited...to see me...but you didn't have to wake me up so...damn early.' I have to stop in between phrases to catch my breath.

'You bastard.' She says with a smile on her face.

'I'm gunna go back...to sleep.' I tell her with a fake yawn to cover my pain.

'Fine, one more hour, but you gotta wake back up.' She says, resting my head in her lap. Nodding as a response, I pass back out.

When I wake up, it's been around a day's time and Amata is missing. I sit up abruptly and feel a sheering pain in my side that puts me back down almost as fast as I sat up. I groan a little and the doctor comes in to check on me. He looks me over and nods, rubbing his chin.

'You look good kid, but that pain ain't gunna just get up and walk off, you're going to need to avoid heavy lifting, or really moving in general to avoid breaking those stitches.' He says it like this is an everyday procedure. I knew it would be bad out in the wastes, but not that bad.

'Did you get the bullet out?' I ask with a scratch in my throat. He looks surprised with the question.

'Bullet? There was no bullet, it looked like you gut cut real deep but a knife or other sharp objects.' his expression doesn't put me to ease at all. I had assumed it was a bullet that hit me. It couldn't have been the robot, his saw only goes up and down.

'Alright, thanks doc, mind giving me a hand out of th...' He had left before I started the sentence and it took me up until then to realize it.

It takes me around ten minutes to get up and out of the bed. I was a little dizzy when I first stood, made it impossible to walk for that short time. I paced the room a few times just to get my footing back before looking like more of an idiot when I walk into a town that I don't even know the entrance to. I walk through the curtain and I see the doctor, he doesn't look at me but another tall African-American man wearing a cowboy suit is staring at me.

'Hey, nice hat Calamity, where can I get one?' I say it with a joking smile, but my wound keeps me from laughing.

'We've got another Joker. Just remember, I'm the sheriff and the mayor, so if you cause any problem in my town, I have no problem shooting you again and putting you back in the wastes.' He says it with a stern look. I was about to come up with a witty comment but I restrain myself, I need this guy to help find my mom.

'I'm sorry if I insulted you, my wound keeps me from making any type of joke not serious. I was curious if my mother may have passed through your town.' I show him a picture of my mom via pip-boy and he shakes his head.

'Sorry boy, I don't know your mother, and she doesn't look familiar.' He says as he walks out. I groan and follow him with, I gotta find Amata.

It's night time and I can barely make out the shape of what seems to be Amata just outside what seems to be an eat out diner, she's chatting with an older lady. She hasn't noticed me yet so I straighten up my posture and head towards her. I can't help but nearly sprint to her. I would have sprinted if it wasn't for the searing pain in my side. Instead I take a light jog to her and put my arms around her waist. She giggles and looks up at me, I interrupted her but she's smiling about it.

'Oh my, this must be the boy you told me about!' I hear the voice come from in front of Amata and I ,it's an elderly woman's voice

'Yes, this is him.' Amata turns to me. 'This is Misses Manya Vargas, her father was the founder of this town, Megaton.' She says it with a pip in her voice, like she just gave a history lesson.

I extend a hand from Amata's waist and Manya greets it.

'It's nice to meet you Mrs. Vargas.' My eyes don't move from Amata's even though I talk to Manya.

'Why don't you two young loves come with me, my husband and I have an extra bed you two could sleep in, and I bet you're hungry!' Manya seems like she's happy all the time."  
The teacher stops reading to turn the page and shutters while she turns the page. It's hard to think that she nearly didn't exist, and her mom was nearly left alone in the wastes.

She clears her throat once and begins reading once again. "It wasn't very far to reach her house, it was just the incline that made it difficult for me. A man named "Billy Creel" helped get up the incline, he practically dragged me though. It appeared that they lived in an old blue metro bus, this doesn't bother me because it's a lot more roomier than I thought it would be.

The elderly woman looked towards Billy and said 'Thank you Billy, you can go home now.'

He doesn't question her, but he does add on; 'Not a problem ma'am, I'm always around to lend a hand.' He walked out and closed the door behind him. Inside the Vault, they had said that the people on the outside were untrustworthy and very rude. These people seem very polite and credible.

Manya led me to a place to sit down and took Amata to go get some food towards the front of the bus. I heard Amata say something about spaghetti and other foods from the Vault. Manya squealed when she heard about each of the things Amata talked about. It took me a moment before I had realized that Amata had been talking about the food my mom had made just 3 nights ago. Didn't really hit me until now, I miss my mom, she would have had me cleaned and stitched in just a matter of minutes if she had seen what happened.

I had been sitting there for a while when an elderly man came in, whistling the tune of "Yanky Doodle".

Manya was fast to turn and greet him. 'Nathan! Why don't you introduce yourself to our guests for the night?' She's so chipper about it, it's like I'm back inside the Vault.

He looks at me and nods, extending a hand out. I greet it with a handshake 'I'm Nathan Vargas, and that beauty over there is my wife!' He's just the same, are they just a couple of senile old people?

'Nice to meet you Nathan.' I feel odd about my response, I'm not as happy about it. I was quick to take my hand and hold my wound again. He wandered towards the front of the bus and greeted Amata. Again, all I hear is a few pieces of their conversation, she said that were from the Vault and Nathan got agitated. Manya was quick to calm him down by putting him to the task of pulling the couch into a bed so me and Amata could sleep tonight.

I give him what little help I can, which was practically making the bed. When we're finished, we're thanked with a couple of smiley girls, holding soup. Me and Nathan look at each other and take our food politely. I can't help but stop to stare into Amata's eyes for a second before going with Nathan to the table.

I take my place across from Nathan and set the bowl down. I didn't want to ask what it was so I just plow my spoon through the meaty liquids and ignore the bitter taste. A day without eating seems almost painful. When I finish I see Nathan staring at me.

'Boy, did you watch for bones?' He asks it extremely stern.

I think for a few seconds. 'Well, I thought it seemed a bit crunchy.' His serious face turns into laughter, as does mine, we share some laughter and he looks at me with a smile.

'So how old are you two?' He seems less serious now.

It doesn't take me long to respond 'We're both sixteen, she's just a few weeks younger than me though.'

He nods and fishes through his soup and takes a while to finish it. Manya and Amata had eaten in the kitchen, watching us thoroughly, like they were studying us for the next big test. Manya walks over and rushes Nathan off to bed, giving me a smile in return. Amata walks up, she's not as smiley as she was 10 minutes ago. Manya walks back through and cleans up the bowls.

When I stand up, Amata heads for the door. I follow her, and gesturing to Manya that we'll only be a minute. I just barely see her smiley nod as Amata and I step out into the open air. The door closes behind me and Amata just stands there with her head down. I see her shiver so I put my arms around her, she slips her arms up the center of my back and wails into my chest. I was expecting something of a cry, but not sobbing. I feel the fabrics on my back tighten.

I whisper in her ear to try and calm her down. 'Shhhh, calm down, you're safe and so am I.' She calms down a little bit but is still pretty upset. I pull her as close as she can be, the warm spot on my chest is getting larger slowly.

It occurs to me yet again, that she left a safe life to be with me, she's not worried about being safe, she probably misses her dad and thought about all the damage I just did to him.

She calms down a little bit more and finally squeezes out some words. 'You think he survived? With all the Rad Roaches, and the blood and the broken bones, and what about Butch, do you think he may have killed my dad?' She's so quivery that I had to think about what she said for a moment, but it takes me an even longer time to think of an answer. 'You're dad is fine Amata, Mr. Brotch was just of a good doctor as my mother, and if you don't recall, Butch is working with and for your father, there is no way your father is dead.' I whisper it into her ear and she still sniffles. I feel the fabric on my back grow looser gradually, but her face seems to have burrowed itself in my chest.

She looks up at me and asks a question I wasn't expecting. 'Do you feel bad at all, for the people you killed, hurting my dad and the fact that your mother broke all functionality in the Vault?' I'm stunned with how blunt the question is. I don't need to think about it to much though.

'Yeah, I feel bad for destroying what peace was left in the Vault, and I may have gone a bit far with your dad, but his guards were trying to kill me, and he ordered the attack on me... I can't let that go unattended, he killed Jonas, Amata, what if you were next, who knows what he would have done to you for helping me.' I stuttered every other word but I got my answer out. She seems pleased with it, maybe for once I gave her an answer she wanted to hear.

A smile forms on her face and she whispers out a few words. 'I'm just happy you're still here.'

I can't help but laugh through the pain in my side. 'Yeah, I'm not just gunna lay down and die, Amata, I have a couple of goals that need to be accomplished.'

'What goals did you have in mind...other than finding your mom?'

She's calmed down quite a bit at this point, so I can understand her and make an answer quicker. 'Well, you've narrowed it down to one goal and about a hundred smaller ones.' She seems confused by this so I explain. 'I need to make sure you're safe, get us a home so I can come home and know you'll be somewhere close.' It didn't occur to me what I just said until after I thought about it. I look down at her, her face is warm with a smile and her eyes glitter in the moon light. She caught on to what I said quicker than I did. Her arms have moved up and around my neck and mine are around her waist. We bump chins when we go to kiss each other, but we ignore the error and correct it, connecting our lips once more. It's a simple kiss, but it's enough to warm my insides.

I look her in the eyes, they still seem to sparkle. I can't stop the words from escaping my mouth.

'Amata, I love you.' Her face turns bright red and she giggles quietly.

She finally stops giggling and responds. 'And I love you.'

We stand there and smile for a moment. I put an arm around her and we go back in. there is only one pillow for us to share, as well as one blanket. Manya had gone to bed with Nathan, leaving me and Amata to feel our way to the bed. We got onto the bed and under the covers. Without thinking, I removed my shirt and got comfortable next to the pillow. She pulled me onto the pillow and clung to my torso, using it as her own pillow. I put an arm around her and it wasn't to long before I was asleep."  
She stops to turn a page and looks at the anxious crowd in front of her. Breathing in, she begins to read once more. "When I awoke the next morning, the mayor sheriff was talking with Amata. They were arranging a deal so that her and I could actually get a house in the town. I go to sit up, but forgot about the cut in my side and grip my waist. There is no medical tape over the stitches so I just end up touching it directly and give myself a slight sting. I groan in pain and the sheriff looks over to me, his face is calm and slightly happy. It makes me feel in less pain for whatever reason, I stand and offer him a hand shake, he accepts it. His hand is sturdy and strong with a fluent motion, these people aren't savages at all, they're real humane people.

He looks at my wound and nods, slightly ignoring it and moving on to business,'Your girlfriend tells me that when you were in the Vault you studied Science.'

I nod and look over at Amata, who approaches me slowly. The Sheriff continues; "She also told me that you had quite the interests in explosive weaponry development and construction."

I think for a moment, how could she have known that? 'Yes sir, I read most books that were stored behind the desk inside the library, concerning heavy artillery, and other things, I didn't kno...' He interupts me "Calm down boy, you're not in any kind of trouble, in fact, I need you to put that knowledge to use. The bomb in the center of town is starting to become a threat to the townsfolk and there has been a rumor that someone has recently tried to arm it to explode. If you can defuse the bomb for me, I'll reward you with the house on the left of the main entrance." I look at him and think for a second, I need to get some money out of this as well.

"Sir, that is quite the generous offer, and it's not going to be very easy. Maybe you should sweeten the deal, for the sake of me risking my life for your town's safety" I say it a bit bold, like I know what I'm doing. He's quick with his response. 'Kid, you've got some balls to come into my town, insult my appearance, then try to bribe me... But you've got a deal, I'll throw in an extra hundred caps.'

I've got no idea what he means by caps, I assume Amata knows more than I do at this point so I'll just have her explain it later. Then it hits me, there is a NUCLEAR bomb in the center of town, that could potentially do a lot of damage, it wouldn't be just me dieing if I fuck it up, it'd be everyone in town. Including Amata. I take a deep breath. I toss a hand towards the Mayor to seal the deal, he's reluctant, but he shakes my hand and leaves almost immediately.

Amata helps me down the ramp and towards the center of town, all the while she fills me in with whats been going on since the bombs went off. Apparently people have resorted to soda caps for currency due to all the money burning in the radiation. Most documents burned as well, they assume that the "Declaration of Independence" was one of them due to it being no where to be found, and the "Museum of History" being nearly reduced to rubble on the interior. Then again, the majority of people who go in there usually die.

When we get to the bomb, I'm sitting in a puddle of radiation and start to work with the door. Amata goes off to the "Brass Lantern" to get some breakfast. I take a few tugs at it and groan, when someone shadows over my shoulder.  
'Let me help you with that kid.' A man in a suit and black hat leans over and slides it open. "There you go.' I look up at his face and he reaches his hand down to me, attempting to shake it. I accept his handshake.  
'Kid, I'm Mr. Burke, and I've got a deal for you. I'll give you 500 caps and a luxury suite in the Ten Penny Towers if you just uh... rig this to explode, instead of defusing it. Just put this little box in wherever it needs to be and meet me at the tower, I'll give you till midnight tomorrow to show up. Here's the coordinates.' He types a few things into my Pip-Boy and slams a canister into my hand, before I can tell him to shove it up his ass, he walks off towards the bar at the highest point in town. I shake my head and pocket the canister and begin the process." She stops to catch her breath and turn the page. When the elderly lady looks at the crowd, their still sucked into the book. She starts again

"It takes me a while to recognize all the components in the bomb, but it falls into place slowly. The pictures that were in the books were of the bomb standing on it's bottom. It's not to different than an artillery shell, just with a lot more wires and components to power the engine. I get the job done before Amata gets back with breakfast, it was pretty intense deciding which wire was the best one to pull on. But we aren't dead and I didn't hear the trigger mechanism go off, so I assume we're safe.

I look at the breakfast she presents me. It's a de-boned squirrel on a kabob stick. I don't see her with any food and she looks towards the bomb to try and hide that she has no food. I don't feel to hungry from all the nerves. I tap her shoulder and offer it out to her.  
'I'm not hungry Amata, all this life threatening stuff has kinda set my appetite to a minimum." I say it to her normally, so she doesn't feel bad about taking it back. She refutes anyways though. "You need to get some strength, after being nearly killed by... who knows what, then saving an entire town, a hero needs a break sometimes you know?' I look at her for a second, and she's looking at the squirrel. 'Take the food and lets go get our home, then with the caps we get from that, I'll buy us both some more food.' She doesn't say anything, takes the stick of meat and eats it nearly as fast as you can count to twelve. I laugh, we lace our fingers together and walk towards the Mayor up by the front gate. He seems surprised when we show up.

'I assumed it would have taken longer than just ten minutes, boy.' He says it with a smile on his face.

'Yeah, and I assumed that the person who tried to arm it was smart enough to get the job done.' I say straight faced, tossing him the canister. He catches it and looks at me.

'Was this inside the bomb?' He asks with concern in his voice.

'No sir, a man that goes by "Mr. Burke" gave it to me, told me to arm the bomb with it and he'll give me five hundred caps and a luxury suite in some tower.' I reply, giving as many details as I could give.

'Well, did you see where he went off to?' He asks.

It doesn't take me long to respond. 'Yeah, he went up into the bar.'

Not a second after I tell him, he starts to make his way towards the bar. We walk past the entrance of his house and a store front to get there, a bridge made of an old bus makes me a bit nervous though, doesn't seem to be welded on or anything, but we get across just fine. The bar gets silent when we enter, I nod towards the bar tender and stand at the side of the sheriff and approach the black hatted man. The sheriff starts.

'This boy tells me that you're the one who tried to set off our bomb, Burke.' He says it calmly, but firmly.

'Well Sims this BOY is right I was trying to set off your little bomb, but did he ever tell you about mine and his deal?' Anger settles into his face while he stands up, slowly.

Sims looks over at me, a straight face, then looks back towards 'Yes, yes he did. I'm gunna need you to come with me Burke, you're under arrest for endangering Megaton and its settlers'

Sims turns his back and starts towards the door, but Burke doesn't move, instead he reaches down to his pistol holster. When I understand what he's doing I grab the screwdriver that was provided for opening the bomb. I'm not to far from him, everything seems like it's slowing down to almost a complete stop. I make the choice to stab him in the right arm, knock away the gun, stab him in the upper leg and punch him out. All crucial areas, but it shouldn't kill him. Everything speeds back up.  
'I can't do that, Sims' Burke says it and Sims turns around, he doesn't have much time to reach the assault rifle on his back, it doesn't matter anyways I've already started my attack.

I grip the handle of the screwdriver in my hand and start towards his arm. He takes a few shots at me, I've got not idea if they hit me, I just know I need to get this done. I pierce his arm with the screwdriver, blood sprays the wall and my chest. Next, I need to disarm him. I grip his upper right arm and his wrist, bringing his elbow down to my knee, breaking his arm. He lets off a loud groan of pain and this is when put the screwdriver in his leg, so he can't run. Again, pulling it out sprays blood onto the floor and my legs. His constant moaning and groaning is annoying, so I put push my fist into his temple, sending him to the floor, silent.

Sims walks over to check Burke's pulse. He looks up at me and laughs.

'Boy, you nearly killed this man to save my life. That gets you some brownie points!' He has a smile on his face while he says it. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small cloth sack that jingles when he moves it, tossing it towards me. I catch it with my bloody hand and look at him, slightly confused.

'What is this, sir?' I tilt my head while I ask him.

'300 caps and the key to your new house.' He smiles to me as he looks towards a long haired man in the back of the bar. 'Moriarty! Give this kid the information he needs to find his mother!'

I look around kind of confused and this "Moriarty" fellow, groans and walks over to me. Sims heads to get the doctor. Moriarty looks at me.

'You look a whole lot like your dad kid.' He talks casually. 'How is your father? I haven't seen him in the longest time.' I look at the floor and rub my neck with my empty hand. Amata takes the sack and slips it into her pocket.

'My father has been dead since my birth, sir. I just want to know where my mother is.' I think about the vision I had of my father, we do look a lot a like.

'Well kid, I need a favor of my own done.' He says it so unmoved by my father, his friend, being dead. I look up at him, anger in my face. I lurch forward and grab the collar of his shirt, pushing his back onto the bar.

'Listen here asshole, I need to know where my mom is NOW.' I start to whisper in his ear to intimidate him.'Before I slit your throat and watch as you bleed out on the floor.' He laughs in my face and looks me in the eye.

'Boy, you couldn't kill an innocent man, how about you just give me some of thoughs caps and we can be done with this whole conversation.' Him saying this just infuriates me, I need to make my point clear. I stand him up and let him go. He starts to smooth his already wrinkled clothes, I wait for him to finish. When he finishes I headbutt him in the bridge of his nose. He leans back to hold his nose and I put one in his gut. He huffs to try and catch his breath. I didn't break his nose, but it sure is bleeding a lot, I can tell because of the cut that forms on the bridge of his nose with the blood trying to escape his veins.

'Jesus kid, your mom went to the Galaxy News Radio tower to try and assemble her old team.' His Irish accent is quivery under his words. I decide now is a good time to leave, everyone is staring at him and me. Amata and I head towards the door. I look down towards my chest and see all the blood. I rub my eyes and everything starts to swirl. I put an arm around her waist to try and keep myself up, she can feel the unbalance in my walk when we start towards our new home.

'Hey, are you okay?' She looks over at me and my head does a little spin.

'Nope, not okay, I think I'm gunna be sick.' Just as fast as I say it I lean over the railing next to me and throw up on top of the doctor's hut. The ramp we were walking on gets hard to stand on, so I sit down. I look up at Amata, she looks concerned now. I smile at her.

'I feel better, help me up.' I say it as playfully possible. She laughs, rolls her eyes and gets her shoulder beneath mine, helping me keep my balance when I stand. I keep my arm around her shoulders and she slips one around my waist. The sun is starting to go down, the day is nearly already over. She scrounges around inside of the sack and finds the key, opening the door not a second later. We get in and it's pretty clear whats inside. There is a fridge at the opposite side of the room, two lockers on either side of the room and a really strange platinum stand right in the center of the wall opposite to the bookshelf pushed against the staircase." She licks her finger before turning the page this time, not bothering to look at the astonished crowd in front of her. "I notice that theres no table on the first floor. I head back outside, theres an old circular table and two chairs just outside the door. I stack the chairs on top of the table and push it through the door, Amata was heading upstairs while I set up the dining room table.

'Theres an office and bedroom up here!' She shouts from one of the rooms upstairs, I laugh.

'Is there now... How big is the bed?' I ask up the stairs.

'Looks like you're sleeping on the floor.' She's walking down the stairs behind me, talking so I don't notice that she's there.

'Is that so? Alright, sounds good to me!' I shout up the hole above my head. She doesn't respond so I look down at my shirt, covered in both my blood, and now Burke's blood. I shake my head and peel off the skin tight top. I look down to my wife beater, it's got a stain of blood around the tear in my hip and some of Burke's blood bled through the other shirt. I need to find some new clothing before people start thinking I'm a savage.

I turn around and see Amata standing at the bottom of the staircase, like she froze going down the last step. She chews on her bottom lip, staring at my back. I half lean, half sit on the table and cross my arms. She catches herself chewing on her bottom lip and turns red, feeling this happen, she runs back up the stairs. I laugh and watch her look back down at me, she giggles and disappears into one of the rooms. I realize whats going on, and take my time up the stairs, trying to figure out which room it was she went into. I hear a creaking sound and see the door shut slowly, so I go into that room. I hear her giggle and I creep into the room, see the bed that actually looks to fit two people. I laugh.

'This bed is definitely big enough, what are you talking about "sleeping on the floor"?' I say it loud enough for her to hear me, wherever she may be, and take a few steps forward to check out the bed. It has a large stain on it. I don't really know what the stain is but, it doesn't matter much to me though, I just wanna go to sleep. Sitting on the bed I can tell it's been used by a heavier person, there is a bit of a dip in the middle of the bed. The bed itself is slightly soft, the cotton probably aged over time.

I huff and look around the room, I notice Amata peeking from around the back of the door. She's hiding the bottom portion of her face. She takes a few steps out from behind the door, to my surprise she's wearing just as much clothes as me, under a girl's standards. She struts towards me and straddles herself around my waist, placing her left leg parallel with my right and her right to my left. Her cheeks are beat red and she begins to kiss me, it doesn't take long for kissing to evolve into exchanging saliva and from there the night carried itself to things that would get us into a lot of trouble inside of the Vault." The elderly woman closes her book with a breath and looks at the crowd, they teens sit straight up, leaning their heads on their hands, looking at their red-faced teacher. She finally works up the courage to speak to the class one more time to conclude their readings.

"Okay class, that was the end of the chapter, and it seems to be about time for you guys to get home."

The class look around at one another, it's nearly noon and from the looks on most of their faces, they want more than just one chapter. The raider youth stands up to speak for the class, being that he's the class representative.

"I speak on behalf of the majority of the people here, that we would like to hear ONE more chapter before heading to our homes." His warhawk bobs back and forth when he bows to the teacher as a conclusion. He sits down and the teacher wipes her palms off on her dress.

"Go get lunch and come back, I'll be continuing the reading at One sharp." She says it sternly, but not one teenager holds back their smile as they rush for lunch.


End file.
